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from Atlanta Intown - January 2016

by Rough Draft Atlanta: Atlanta Intown, Reporter Newspapers

DECORATIVE ARTS

D’Anthony will be headed to the University of Georgia next fall to play baseball, a talent he honed as an ambassador for L.E.A.D., a local nonprofit that uses sports to help students succeed at school and teaches them how to give back to the community. D’Anthony, the son of David Morrow and Katrina Johnson, has been an ambassador for the group for six years. He said a memorable moment came during a L.E.A.D. clinic at Turner Field with elementary and middle school students from Atlanta Public Schools. “As the students walk into the stadium, you see the excitement on their faces and all throughout the day; you see how excited they are to be on the field running around the bases, having live batting practice, and simply happy to be on the same field where the Atlanta Braves play,” D’Anthony said. “What made the day so memorable was when an elementary student came up to me after the clinic and said, ‘I am going to be like you one day.’ That made me feel like a champion! It showed me that what I was doing is affecting kids in a positive way.”

For the past four years, Prashanth has traveled to Tirunelveli, India to volunteer at Galaxy Hospital and Kidney Care Center, where he translates for doctors during procedures and helps comfort patients. This work also led to hosting blood drives in the small town and other places in India. He also teaches at a local Tamil School every Sunday, teaching the Tamil language to children, and serves as a peer tutor for Pace’s Academic Resource Center. Prashanth, the son of Krishnan Kumar and Sundari Ganesan, is also a counselor for the Middle School MathCounts program and Lower School chess team. He said that his trips to India each summer have inspired his career path. “Going to volunteer in India solidified my aspiration to be a doctor, as it is clearly a job that would immensely change the lives of any community,” he said. “[The trips] nourish my internal drive to help make the world one in which all people, irrespective of what country they are in, have the same chance to thrive.”

Sarina Chalmers, 18

The Paideia School

Sarina’s strong interest in ecology led her to create the “Paideia PlantPollinator Project” two years ago. Her research has led to the installation of hundreds of native plants for pollinators, including more than 20 different species of native wildflowers and flowering herbs in the Druid Hills neighborhood, as well as in other school and community gardens in underserved neighborhoods around Atlanta. Under Sarina’s leadership, the Paideia Farms and Garden Sites are now certified Native Pollinator Habitats. Sarina also received a Monarchs Across Georgia Pollinator Habitat grant to continue this work. Her work also led to the development of a related AP Biology lab that focuses on the coevolution of pollinators and native plants. Sarina, a senior, is the daughter of Rebecca and Henry Chalmers.

A2015 graduate of Grady High School, the daughter of Elizabeth and Ed Rogan combined her love of reading with Girl Scout service projects that address literacy issues among homeless children. While in 6th grade, Jenni refurbished the library at the United Methodist Children’s Home in Decatur, arranging for a book drive at her school, a troop discussion of literacy, and a group tour of the facility. She also worked with infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers at the Atlanta Children’s Shelter through the creation of an audio library where youngsters read along with popular children’s books while the story is read to them on a CD to help close the “word gap,” a documented lag in literacy for children born into poverty. She also volunteered regularly with Project Open Hand, MedShare, the Ronald McDonald House and the Atlanta Women’s Day Shelter. Now in college, Jenni is volunteering once a week at an elementary school in Northfield, MN. She said one of her most memorable moments was seeing the delight in the eyes of the young children at the Atlanta Children’s Shelter when she wheeled in a cart filled with audiobooks. “I hope I was able to pass along my love of reading to these children,” she said.

James Pastan, 18 The Westminster Schools

James is the founder of Trading Smiles, a nonprofit organization that seeks to spread happiness and a sense of comfort to homeless kids through trading cards. He collects old trading cards, either from donations from other kids or by buying them in bulk online, and repackages the cards and donates them to the Atlanta Children’s Shelter (ACS). Since the inception of Trading Smiles, James has donated more than 4,000 cards to homeless children in Atlanta. The organization was presented at a Yale Young Global Scholars information session in Vietnam as an example of what Yale Young Global Scholars do in their communities. Since then, he has received emails from students in Vietnam who are interested in getting involved. James, the son of Stephen and Elizabeth Pastan, hopes to reach 10,000 cards donated before he graduates in May. He is working to establish a relationship with a trading card manufacturer or sports team in order to always have a consistent supply of cards and to expand the organization national and internationally. James said meeting and playing with the kids at ACS is a reminder of why he started the nonprofit. “Every time I drop off a donation at the ACS, I look at the playground and remember why running Trading Smiles is so rewarding: every card is an invitation to play.”

Casey has volunteered for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, cleaned cages for FurKids, prepared and served meals at Ronald McDonald House, made paracord bracelets for military members for Operation Gratitude as well as volunteered at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Chastain Therapeutic Riding Program, City of Refuge and Northside Shepherd Senior Center.Casey also received the President’s Volunteer Service award for National Charity League (NCL), a motherdaughter service organization. The daughter of Kathy and Boyd Gentry, Casey said one of her cherished memories was one night when she volunteering at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where she met a young patient who spoke no English and whose family had returned to Mexico. “I stayed with him for the rest of the night, learning about how his family went back to their home in Mexico and wouldn’t see him for another month,” she said. “This experience opened my eyes to my affect on others and made me feel more useful than many other days in my life. Volunteering has shaped who I am and given me my identity that today I can be proud of.”

John Parker Stephenson, 18 Woodward Academy

The VirginiaHighland student has been giving back to the community since he attended Morningside Elementary and Inman Middle schools. Most recently he served as a “Volunteen” at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he helped with inventory and in the laboratory. The son of John and Debbie Stephenson, John has also been active building homes with Habitat for Humanity, processing and packaging meals with Helping Hand and planting trees along the Atlanta BeltLine with Trees Atlanta. As part of his work with First Presbyterian Church, he’s been on a number of mission trips including helping those affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. One of his memorable moments was helping a homeless man who could not speak English during a church breakfast. The man wanted an orange, but John was unable to find one, but the homeless man smiled and thanked the teen for breakfast. “As my dad and I were leaving to go home and get changed for church services, I saw the man who asked for an orange out of the corner of my eye, a wide smile on his face and, surprisingly, an orange in his hand,” John said. “He waved at me and I waved back happily before going our separate ways. In all of my volunteer experiences, it’s the little things like a warm smile over such an ordinary object that imparts a binding sense of humanity and makes service extremely worthwhile.”

Morgan has always given of her time to her community by volunteering with many groups and organizations. Whether it’s helping to build playgrounds with Kaboom, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for school cleanup projects, planting a community garden for the needy, or holding leadership positions with Sporty Girls, you can always find Morgan giving of her time. Morgan also volunteers with Alive Ministries, an organization whose mission is to eliminate hunger for atrisk students in local schools. She also participated in the Haiti Care Mission’s “Threads of Love” project, a 2011 initiative to collect and donate 5,000 pillowcases for the purpose of making “pillowcase dresses” for infants and young girls in need in Haiti. The daughter of Scott and Nathalie Brandon-Robinson, Morgan also collected knitted hats for donation to the neonatal intensive care unit of Children’s Hospital at Egleston as part of the Middle Years Program Project. “As I toured the NICU and saw the precious bundles of joy to whom my hats would help, I believe my heart was warmed most of all,” she recalled. “Despite being hooked up to countless machines and tubes, the babies had so much life and strength in their little bodies. Ultimately, it was one of the best feelings to know that my actions were possibly adding a sense of comfort to a mother’s life, and most of all, showing them that they were not alone.”

Under his leadership, The Weber School Student Council adopted a year-long initiative of Active Inclusion – an ideal upon which the entire school community recognizes and embraces that every student is entitled to a welcoming school experience regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other human factor. Working with the Tikkun Olam Club and the Gay-Straight Alliance Club, Weber’s student council galvanized attendance at this year’s Gay Pride Parade. Max’s commitment to forging genuine connections between students can be traced back to his sophomore year. Through Weber’s Counseling program, he underwent training to become a student-leader for the Anti-Defamation League’s “Names Can Really Hurt Us” Assembly Program. The son of Ellen Zucrow and Bobby Harris, Max also led the student body in creating gift bags for the Sandy Springs Fire Department, to honor their service and to remember the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “This initiative arose out of the necessity to appreciate the heroes of 9/11, the first responders, in a public and impactful manner,” he said. “And the opportunity to make a difference through volunteerism represents not only the Jewish cornerstone value of Tikkun Olam, but also the moral commitment to one another to remember the legacies of those who sacrificed so much to ensure others’ safety; that is why this program was so impactful.”

The

Qwantayvious Artez Stiggers, 17

Academy at Benjamin S. Carson

Atlanta Public Schools

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen personally nominated

Qwantayvious after becoming one of his mentors. He serves on the superintendent’s advisory committee for single gender schools and is a member of Project ENGAGES at Georgia Tech - where he conducts research, sets goals and explores possible career paths. During his 2015 spring break, he went to Costa Rica to perform community service work as part of the B.E.S.T. Boys Global Club and found himself working with children at an orphanage. Two young children he met at the orphanage left a lasting impression. “As we entered the orphanage two kids, a boy and girl named Gringo and Maria, ran towards me and hugged my legs,” he said, and spent the day playing, having lunch and tucking them in during nap time. “Before I left, both Gringo and Maria both hugged me tightly around my neck. The whole way home I was in deep thought about those two kids. It was kind of crazy how special connections could be made in such little time. The time I gave Gringo and Maria brought great happiness to my heart and theirs because I know they made impact on me and definitely I made an impact on them. I will never forget their names.” Qwantayvious is the son of Kwanna Stiggers.